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Recap: Forget other factors ... KU's shooting to blame for SDSU loss

A look back at KU’s 61-57 loss to San Diego State ...

Biggest Takeaway

Kansas' interior offense isn't invincible. The Jayhawks entered Sunday's game with the second-best 2-point percentage in the nation (58 percent) and was completely taken out of their game by SDSU's athletic back line while making just 13 of 41 2s (32 percent). The Aztecs' defense had a lot to do with KU's struggles, but the Jayhawks also simply missed some shots as well. KU was just 3-for-21 on 2-point jumpers (14 percent) which isn't even close to the NCAA average of 37 percent. Even shooting 25 percent on those attempts could have shifted the outcome of Sunday's game.

That ended up being pretty close to how it turned out for Embiid (and if you're going back to look at the previous Five-Minute Scout, let's go ahead and pretend I didn't make a score prediction ... ).

Embiid didn't get many chances inside (five field goals), but he made the most of them while also getting to the free-throw line seven times. The freshman posted a team-high 1.17 points per possession ended while taking on a huge offensive load while he was in (26 percent usage percentage). And, as expected, he was great on the offensive glass (five offensive rebounds) and defensively (five blocks in 26 minutes).

Best of the Rest …

2. Frank Mason — Efficiency was helped by his strong 3-point shooting (2-for-3); posted second-best PPP mark on team (1.16) while taking on an above-average offensive load (22 percent usage percentage); still a one-dimensional player on drives, as he never drives to dish (zero assists in 25 minutes).

3. Andrew Wiggins — Poor shooting day saved by the fact that he got to the free-throw line and made his shots there (6-for-7); made just 4 of 14 field goals overall and just 1 of 6 2-point jumpshots; had decent defensive rebounding numbers, but didn't affect the game statistically much outside of that.

4. Naadir Tharpe — A horrible shooting game (2-for-10) was helped by great secondary numbers (five assists, no turnovers, two steals); first game all year he's had more than one steal in a game, and he did it on a badly sprained ankle; still hard to forget about an ill-advised NBA range 3-pointer he took with a full shot clock and 6:27 left that killed KU's momentum.

5. Perry Ellis — KU coach Bill Self was extremely frustrated with Ellis after the game, but the forward still had an impact defensively on a rough shooting night (1-for-8, four points); his three blocks were a new career high, and he also added a steal and three defensive rebounds in 22 minutes; has averaged just 7.3 points per game in KU's four losses.

Tough-Luck Line

It's time to start considering whether Wayne Selden Jr. should be replaced in the starting lineup and perhaps in the rotation. Statistically, he was poor in nearly every area: shooting (2-for-8), rebounding (one in 26 minutes), turnovers (two) and defensively (no steals for a second straight game). His 0.967 points per possession mark for the year is worst among KU's top nine regulars, and as this blog showed, he's not providing any sort of a presence defensively either. Selden has a great basketball body and looks good in a uniform, but at this point, he's not pulling his weight in KU's rotation.

Room For Improvement

After starting the year as the nation's best defensive rebounding team for a few weeks, KU was dominated in that area Sunday. The Jayhawks pulled down just 54.8 percent of the available defensive rebounds, which tied for its worst mark in the last three seasons. The Aztecs were best down the stretch, as they actually grabbed more of their missed shots (14) than the Jayhawks did (13) in the second half.

Stat of the Day

KU's effective field-goal percentage of 33.3 percent was the second-worst in Self's 11 seasons at KU, topping only last year's loss at TCU. Though you can quibble over the other details, the fact of the matter is that teams that shoot that poorly from the field almost never win. There were only 12 instances year ago when Big 12 teams shot an eFG% of 33.3 percent or less; those teams went 1-11 with an average losing margin of 22.2 points.

Bottom Line

In a game strikingly similar to KU's first loss of the season — a 63-59 setback to Villanova — the Jayhawks once again struggled against a team that played physical inside with athletic rim-protectors. KU's 0.878 points per possession total was its second-worst mark of the year (behind Villanova), and honestly, it's going to be hard to hold any decent team below that to try to eke out an ugly victory.

The game still had plenty of positives for KU on the defensive end. SDSU posted its highest turnover percentage of the season (23 percent), and Self had previously been concerned about his team's lack of production in that area. The Jayhawks also did a good job of avoiding fouls for a second straight game and held the Aztecs to their second-worst PPP mark of the season (0.94 PPP).

With a few more made jumpshots, the storyline might be how much better KU's defense played after a week working on it in practice.

Instead, KU will head to Norman, Okla., on Wednesday looking for a big win and also some confidence following a tough non-conference slate.